Nautic Star Boats Experience
I know this is mainly a bass fishing forum, but I see Nautic Star boats a bunch in some of the big lakes around here, so I thought I'd share my experience thus far.
I'm not going to lie this thread is basically to vent about Nautic Star(sorry, I'm sure not all want to know, I have to get it off my chest), but any advice and opinions are appreciated on how you would handle this situation or how you think it could have been handled better.
I bought a brand new 2016 Nautic Star 224XTS in October 2015. In about August/September of 2016 we began hearing and feeling in our feet a loud thunking noise when going over waves, even very light rolling type waves. When there was a heavier chop, it really sounded bad and you could really feel the thuds from whatever it was. We stopped on that trip and starting checking to make sure all the batteries were secure, which they were, so we check all the compartments to see if anything big may be rolling side to side or something and we found nothing. We thought that maybe the fuel tank was moving, so we tried our hardest to see if that may be the problem, but there was no noticeable movement that we could tell. We also were noticing that the screws along the rub rail at the front port side were nearly almost out and the same at the rear starboard side, but our last boat would sometimes have screws come out, so we don't really know if this is a problem or not. We went a few trips with this noise and we were always trying to figure out where it was coming from, we thought it may be the power pole bouncing or swaying while going through the waves, but that just didn't make sense either. It wasn't until one day when we were really cleaning and waxing up the boat that we noticed what looked like cracks forming under the hull on the outside of the boat. These cracks were 18-30" in length running up and down the outside bottom of the hull, two cracks on each side of the boat. We jumped inside the boat and opened up a floor hatch where you can see down to the bare hull and stringers. Well, where the stringers met the hull, there was what looked like cracks, but hard to really see if it was cracked or just some glue that had dried and cracked along the seams where the stringers attach to the hull. On our next trip out we made sure to pay attention to this area to see if there is any movement, which there was even with gentle waves of the bay. The hull would separate from the stringer up to about 1/4" just riding on pretty silky water. When there was chop, it would separate even more, so we knew that this is what we were hearing and feeling, so we brought the boat back home. When we got home, we started looking in all the hatches where we could see to the stringers and at every location the same cracks appeared.
This is when we brought the boat back to the dealer(January 2017), and they called Nautic Star and had the boat delivered back to the manufacturer. Nautic Star received the boat, and we hear from our dealer that they are replacing the entire boat. Awesome! Well a few weeks go by and we haven't heard anything, so we give the dealer a call and now Nautic Star said that the hull will be replaced, but not the cap. I called my dealer, and asked why not the cap since it seems like the cap had to be taking more of a beating than what it was supposed to be. We were all taught for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction and since the cap is attached to the stringers that were slamming the hull so hard that the hull started to crack, it seems to me that the cap must have went through a good bit of stress as well and should be replaced to be safe. The dealer agreed that they should probably replace the cap as well. We asked how we could compromise and replace the cap as well. We were told that it would be $4,000 to replace the cap. We told our dealer, that the price was high but do not continue with putting the old cap back on as we would like to think about it. We thought about it and was going to see if they could drop the price a little. I also posted a similar thread on thehulltruth.com, to see if we should have any worries about how Nautic Star was going to proceed with only replacing the hull. I found out on there that another customer went through similar trouble, and now his cap is cracking throughout his boat, and it started immediately once getting it back from Nautic Star. We call our dealer to tell them that we DEFINITELY don't want the old cap back now, and we found out that the old cap was already installed on the boat WITHOUT telling us! This was extremely frustrating news especially since this was done without notifying us and the communications to us from our dealer and Nautic Star has been very very poor so far, especially when talking about how much this boat has cost us and the inconvenience of not having a boat to go fishing in. The boat was in repair from mid January-mid to late February if not March. (I have the times written down, but not in front of me)
So, at this point we are livid on how this entire process has went down. Prior to getting the boat back to the dealer, we asked for our 100 hour service be done free of charge, and we ask for an extended warranty on the cap in case it has the same issues as the other customer has experienced. The Nautic Star rep mentioned that wasn't a problem and he'll get something typed up. This extended warranty was talked about quite a few times between us and the dealer and us and the rep. Well when the boat gets back to the dealer, and they finish installed all our equipment, they act as they forgotten all about the warranty, so we had to wait longer to pick up the boat. We probably could have picked it up prior to receiving the paperwork, but we wanted to be sure it was there, as I'm sure some of you understand.
Now, the boat is back in our possession. I bring it on its "maiden" trip with the new hull, old cap combo. I stayed in the cove area of Vermillion Bay, since the wind was kicking pretty good anywhere else. I hit some waves, but nothing larger than jon boats wave. When I get home, I begin cleaning up the boat to perfection as we always do, and guess what I find, CRACKS! This infuriated me and I called my dealer immediately, and they said that they had a fiberglass guy that could fix them, which is nice but expected. I told them that this worries me, since this is like the horror story of the other customer. I asked if I needed to repair immediately, he said no don't worry about it, continue to fish. I bring it out on trip #2. This day was probably the smoothest day of fishing, I've ever been on. It was glassy the entire day, so glassy that my dad, and two other gentlemen rode on the front deck of the boat while underway. The biggest wave we hit that day may have been from a pelican diving. IT WAS SMOOTH!! Well, when we get home, we start cleaning the boat up again, and low and behold several new sets of cracks throughout the boat. This isn't looking good folks. The third trip was a similar experience to that as well.
We called our dealer again and expressed our disappointment, and what we believe should happen, which would be an entire new boat yet again. I do not see how this cap could be at the same structural integrity now as what it was when we gave it to Nautic Star if we are experiencing this kind of cracking immediately upon arrival of the "new" boat.
Our status as of now: Continue using the boat at its current state. We have notified the dealer, and sent an email to Nautic Star about our concerns and beliefs. We are awaiting to hear back from either to see how this will be handled. In order to keep this post as honest as can be, I will update you whenever we find out how this situation is going to be handled.
I do have pictures of the stringers separating throughout the boat on thehulltruth post, but I don't have any of the cracking with me. A quick description would be that there are several sets of 1" to 4-5" cracks at various points of the cap. thehulltruth post is here: http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-...r-defects.html
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Originally Posted by Old Bass Tard
